Wednesday, June 05, 2013

DOJ Reaches Hearing Access Settlement with New Haven

The U.S. Department of Justice and the city have reached a settlement agreement that will ensure the city provides adequate services to individuals who are deaf or have difficulty hearing, according to a Justice Department statement.

The agreement comes after two complaints alleged that the Livable City Initiative and New Haven Police Department failed to provide interpreters for individuals who are deaf or have difficulty hearing, during investigations, arrests or other actions, from 2008 to 2011, the release said. The Livable City Initiative is an agency focused on neighborhood enhancement and improvement through the enforcement of codes and space requirements.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires local governments and police departments to provide adequate services for persons with disabilities. The ADA also requires adequate training for staff.

HUD Issues Olmstead Guidance

Yesterday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a guidance document on the implementation of Olmstead in HUD-funded programs. Integrated housing is a crucial piece of Olmstead implementation, so it's exceptionally important that HUD issued this guidance. From the introduction:

Individuals with disabilities have historically faced discrimination that limited their opportunity to live independently in the community and required them to live in institutions and other segregated settings. In 1999, the United States Supreme Court issued the landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), affirming that the unjustified segregation of individuals with disabilities is a form of discrimination prohibited by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Following the Olmstead decision, there have been increased efforts across the country to assist individuals who are institutionalized or housed in other segregated settings to move to integrated, community-based settings. In addition, states are “rebalancing” health care delivery systems by shifting away from an overreliance on providing long-term services and supports to individuals with disabilities in institutions, hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, and other restrictive, segregated settings and moving towards a greater reliance on home- and community-based services. For many states, these efforts to comply with Olmstead and rebalance the way long-term services and supports are provided by moving individuals out of institutions and into the community are confounded by a lack of integrated housing options for individuals with disabilities. As a result, there is a great need for affordable, integrated housing opportunities where individuals with disabilities are able to live and interact with individuals without disabilities, while receiving the health care and long-term services and supports they need.

Individuals with disabilities, like individuals without disabilities, should have choice and self- determination in housing and in the health care and related support services they receive. For this reason, HUD is committed to offering individuals with disabilities housing options that enable them to make meaningful choices about housing, health care, and long-term services and supports so they can participate fully in community life. As more states facilitate the transition of individuals with disabilities from institutional or other segregated settings into their communities, the need for meaningful choice among housing options is critical. For communities that have historically relied heavily on institutional settings and housing built exclusively or primarily for individuals with disabilities, the need for additional integrated housing options scattered throughout the community becomes more acute.

HUD programs serve as an important resource for affordable housing opportunities for individuals with disabilities, including individuals who are transitioning out of, or at serious risk of entering, institutions. HUD funds the operation, management, development, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing. HUD’s portfolio includes tenant-based housing vouchers, apartment buildings that serve a wide variety of individuals and families, and numerous other programs that provide permanent and transitional housing with or without supportive services to individuals with and without disabilities.